Bloghttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 07:33:05 +0000Joomla! - Open Source Content Managementen-gbLoving Legos Againhttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/loving-legos-again
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/loving-legos-againSo let's be honest, I have always loved Legos! When I say that I am loving Legos again, it is because I have started writing some new Lego Challenges for the schools that I am working with. I am also curating some fun new ones from Pinterest. I will share some of my new ones when I finish creating this batch. No sense in not sharing and using socia...]]>BlogFri, 30 Nov 2018 01:51:51 +0000What is your Objective?http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/what-is-your-objective
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/what-is-your-objectiveSeveral years ago, I was conferencing with a teacher. She said that she did not have enough time to do all the activities she had for her unit. In fact she had a wonderful new activity she wanted to add to to the unit plan. I stopped her and asked, "What is your Objective?" She then told me what the objective was for that unit and I asked if all th...]]>BlogWed, 07 Nov 2018 02:23:39 +0000Intentional Add-Onhttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/intentional-add-on
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/intentional-add-on I have been working on a workshop presentation, Digital Citizenship, How Am I Supposed To Teach This? As I work through the segment as to why you should teach Digital Citizenship, I have found myself saying that teaching Digital Citizenship should not be done as add-on lessons but rather integrated into the curriculum. In fact it should and ...]]>BlogThu, 27 Sep 2018 13:35:55 +0000Celebrate the Goodhttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/celebrate-the-good
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/celebrate-the-goodThe world seems so much smaller these days because of social media and the ability to contact people anytime anywhere. But walking in schools, I still get the feeling sometimes that classrooms are each in their own silo. Reaching out within a school does not often seem to happen as much as reaching out on Twitter or Facebook. Maybe it is because we...]]>BlogThu, 13 Sep 2018 13:20:37 +0000Percolating Timehttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/percolating-time
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/percolating-timeSo, when I decided to write a blog, I envisioned myself sitting down at my kitchen table and spending an hour here, an afternoon there, writing. Well, I was wrong. Well mostly wrong. Often I start a blog that way. Maybe a paragraph or just a sentence. But I have learned from writing letters to parents or articles for school newsletters, that I need...]]>BlogThu, 16 Aug 2018 21:21:10 +0000Freedomhttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/freedom
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/freedomThis week is July 4th week. Freedom is the idea running around in mind this week. What is freedom? So I posted the following on Twitter: Been writing a new blog post & July 4th has been on my mind. So I started to write a list of what FREEDOM is then I realized, I would like to ask others what FREEDOM is. So I am asking… some of the answe...]]>BlogFri, 06 Jul 2018 19:22:01 +0000Let the Creativity Flowhttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/let-the-creativity-flow
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/let-the-creativity-flowThese days as a consultant, my students are the teachers and administrators in my client schools. So when I have the opportunity to meet with students and model some of the ideas that I am discussing with the faculty, I jump at the chance. This occurred recently on a consultation in North Carolina. I was demonstrating the ease of use of a fun littl...]]>BlogThu, 21 Jun 2018 14:36:00 +0000Voiceshttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/voices
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/voices As schools are ending or have ended, that brings graduations and moving up ceremonies. With this in mind, I am sharing a modified version of the 5th grade graduation talk I gave last year. I am a country music person. Several months ago I was walking, listening to my walking playlist and the song Voices by Chris Young came on.Now normally he...]]>BlogThu, 07 Jun 2018 14:25:02 +0000Happy Endings?http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/happy-endings
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/happy-endings Over Mother's Day weekend, I went to see Avengers -Infinity War. For many Mother's Days, my family takes me to see the new superhero movie. I like superhero movies, to the joy of my three sons. So even though my youngest son was home from college and had seen the movie, and my older two were not home, I asked my husband to take me. As we lef...]]>BlogThu, 24 May 2018 19:28:11 +0000Other Teachers’ Classroomhttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/other-teachers-classroom
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/other-teachers-classroom The fascination of walking into another teacher's classroom. We have all felt it. The "Ooh, did not think to set up my bookshelves like that." Or the "That works well for a learning center." Now, I am not talking about Pinterest classroom jealousy, rather the ideas that pop up when you enter another teacher's room and wonder if yours could w...]]>BlogThu, 10 May 2018 18:38:40 +0000Accountability - What does it mean to be accountable?http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/accountability-what-does-it-mean-to-be-accountable
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/accountability-what-does-it-mean-to-be-accountableAccountability. A word that is thrown around schools, discussed with parents, and expected of students. But what is it? The New Oxford American Dictionary on my computer defines accountability as: the fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility. So when we say students need to be accountable, we are saying we want students to be responsi...]]>BlogThu, 26 Apr 2018 13:09:44 +0000Parent Engagementhttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/parent-engagement
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/parent-engagementA blog post I wrote in the fall was about creating a classroom community with your students. Creating a safe place for respectful discussion to occur, for students to take risks their with education, not "play it safe" for the grades. But what about the others who have also been part of your classroom this year? What about your students' parents? A...]]>BlogThu, 12 Apr 2018 23:23:54 +0000Brainstorming!http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/brainstorming
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/brainstormingMy mind is currently a mess! Ideas for this blog start to percolate and then fizzle out. I have a list of ideas but none seem to develop into a full blog. So, today you are reading my list. Maybe jotting down these thoughts will help the ideas to grow and become clear expressions. Positivity - how to reframe thoughts into positive actions What back...]]>BlogThu, 29 Mar 2018 17:06:05 +0000Teachers use Design Thinking all the time!http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/teachers-use-design-thinking-all-the-time
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/teachers-use-design-thinking-all-the-timeAs educators we are encouraged to teach our students to be problem solvers. We read about students as makers and creators. We can search the internet for Design Thinking Process graphics to guide our students. John Spencer and A.J. Juliani wrote a great book, LAUNCH , to mentor us into using Design Thinking in our classrooms. If you have not introd...]]>BlogWed, 14 Mar 2018 16:04:17 +0000Not Just One Weekhttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/not-just-one-week
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/not-just-one-week I started this blog post back in the fall when social media was touting Digital Citizenship Week and Hour of Code. But I decided not to finish this thought. Well, last week we had #DigitalLearningDay and I found myself thinking about this idea again. It just so happened that on #DigitalLearningDay I was part of a team that had a fundraiser fo...]]>BlogThu, 01 Mar 2018 16:44:41 +0000Teacher FOMO?http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/teacher-fomo
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/teacher-fomoFOMO-Fear Of Missing Out. This is a real concern for educators and parents alike. Our students constantly using their digital devices to check their social media sites. Are their friends doing something "great?" Did they not get invited to something this weekend? Did they not watch the Netflix show that everyone will be talking about on Monday? But...]]>BlogFri, 16 Feb 2018 14:55:00 +0000Intentionshttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/intentions
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/intentionsThis past week was FETC, Future of Education Technology Conference, week on my calendar. I have been going to FETC for at least 5 years. Some years I have felt that I got more out of the workshops and presentations than other years. But I always go because I truly feel it is important to be a life long learner and FETC is in my back yard. It makes ...]]>BlogFri, 02 Feb 2018 02:09:53 +0000Here come the Olympics!http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/here-come-the-olympics
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/here-come-the-olympicsI love the Olympics! Ask my family, I get excited as the Olympics gets closer. When I was teaching I always did some activities with my class related to the Olympics. As Principal, I made sure that our student run morning news had a medal count. I am secretly even happier with my decision to become an educational consultant because next month ...]]>BlogThu, 18 Jan 2018 14:12:22 +0000Let's Dance in the Rainhttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/let-s-dance-in-the-rain
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/let-s-dance-in-the-rain A friend of mine has gone through a difficult illness. It makes me feel useless. I can't fix this for her. I can be there for her. I can listen, go with her to doctors' appointments. But I can't make her better immediately! I can encourage her when she is frustrated and scared. But I can't make the treatment go completely smoothly. I ha...]]>BlogThu, 04 Jan 2018 17:58:20 +0000PERSPECTIVEhttp://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/perspective
http://edtechease.com/index.php/blog/perspectiveRecently FAME, Florida Association for Media in Education (@floridamediaed), tweeted out a link to a TED Talk: How to Design a Library that Makes Kids Want to Read (https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_bierut_how_to_design_a_library_that_makes_kids_want_to_read). I watched this with the expectation that this would be about furniture or creating a Libr...]]>BlogThu, 21 Dec 2017 16:29:33 +0000